Fatima Payman | |
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.jpg) Payman in 2022 | |
| Senator for Western Australia | |
| Assumed office 1 July 2022 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1995 (age 28–29) Kabul, Islamic State of Afghanistan |
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| Political party |
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| Alma mater | University of Western Australia |
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Fatima Payman (Dari: فاطمه پیمان; born 1995) is an Australian politician who has served as a senator for Western Australia since 2022, first for the Labor Party and then as an independent.
Payman was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, migrating to Perth with her family in 2003. She attended the Australian Islamic College and studied pharmacy at university. Payman was president of Young Labor WA and an organiser for the United Workers Union, before becoming an electorate officer for WA Labor politician Pierre Yang. At the 2022 Australian federal election, Payman was elected to the Australian Senate as a senator for Western Australia. She was the third-youngest member to have been elected to the Senate and the first Muslim member of parliament to wear a hijab.
In May and June of 2024, Payman's statements in support of Palestine during the Israel–Hamas war and criticism of the Albanese government's response to the war brought her out of step with the rest of the government. On 25 June 2024, Payman crossed the floor to support an Australian Greens resolution to recognise a Palestinian state, leading to her being indefinitely suspended from the Labor caucus. On 4 July 2024, Payman quit the Labor Party to sit as an independent.